My name is Andy Fenster and I’m attending this conference as a member of the seven part team formed by the UB Department of Theatre and Dance.My research focus on this trip is to look at the newest and most advanced lighting technologies and lighting design concepts.I plan on looking into new fixtures such as LED and intelligent lighting as well as the new forms of lighting control and communication E-Net and EDMX.I have worked with and seen some of these technologies used in major touring shows, and hope to find an affordable way to implement them into our theatre spaces at the University at Buffalo.

We left Buffalo this morning around eleven and seven hours later found ourselves in downtown Cincinnati surrounded by other theatre technicians and designers.With the exception of Collin, the conference does not start for us until tomorrow morning so we have spent the night reading schedules and preparing for the sessions we will be attending.I have also looked into the booths that will be present at the stage expo and found the ones that showcase new lighting technologies.Tomorrow I will be attending a tour of the Cincinnati playhouse, which will offer a great perspective of how professional theatres operate.I will be back to post tomorrow on the first day of sessions.

After a bit of a drive, we have landed here in Cincinnati and are studing up on what the game plan for attacking the different classes that will begin bright and early tomorrow. I am pumped for the 8am session Magic sheets aren’t Magic yes me who loves her sleep is pumped to get up early for this session. Check back as I explore a way to develop a lighting inventory for designers that work across architecture and theater industries, to configure a lighting simulation station, and to use theatrical fixtures and accessories in non-traditional applications in and outside the theaterical industry.

Welcome to (td)squared’s first blog, “(td)squared goes to Cincinnati”!

Cincinnati is the home of this year’s USITT Conference and Stage Expo. With a group of Tech/Design students from UB heading down to the trip as part of a research project, a blog seemed like a great way for us to share what we learn as we learn it.

This will be a group blog, with seven or eight authors posting throughout the course of the next week. We’ll be posting nightly updates, composed of pictures, video, and text, describing the sessions we attended and the vendors we met.

Can’t make it to USITT this year? Tell us in the comments what you want to see! At the show? Tell us what we’re missing! Either way, send us feedback and let us know how we do. This is a collaborative process and we want to make sure that our research is as open and public as possible, in the spirit of live theatre and the research university that is sending us to the conference!